Chapter 458, Section 457: The Mushroom Clan
Inside the mushroom house, Norris opened his eyes, looking slightly tired, his eyeballs bloodshot.
I had a nightmare all night about being chased by indescribable giant claws. Even though I got plenty of sleep, I felt physically and mentally exhausted, as if I had really been running all night.
I was indeed scared.
The only good news is that the boss doesn't seem to be bothering him because of the unexpected death of that special Poogi.
According to the boss's habits, if he wants to punish someone, he usually does it on the same day.
Since the day passed peacefully, it's highly likely that they didn't take it to heart.
However, as soon as he stepped out of the Mushroom House with the yellow book in his hand, he was frozen in place by the strange sight before him.
...
Outside Xiao Hei's mushroom house, Number One Ji, who was reborn once again by having its soul stuffed into a cocoon by Lin Jun, stood upright with its round body amidst a group of newly born intelligent Puji.
It waved its mycelial tentacles, its impassioned thoughts echoing in the mushroom network's public channel: "Fellow mushroom people! Look at us! We are the chosen people of the mushroom lord, the extension of His great will, and the guardians of this paradise!"
Its "gaze" swept over the bewildered but clearly engrossed Puji around it, then its tentacles suddenly pointed at the tightly closed door of Little Black: "But! Right there! There dwells a savage and rude beast that delights in devouring our noble Mushroom Clan! A natural enemy we must face squarely!"
A chorus of gasps, a mixture of fear and indignation, immediately erupted from the mushroom grove.
"And today!" Number One's mushroom cap trembled slightly with excitement. "We will gather the strength of the mushroom clan to challenge it and defeat it! We must make it understand that we are not snacks to be eaten at will! We possess power, we possess wisdom, and we must defend the inviolable dignity of the mushroom clan!"
From the dozen or so puffs below, a cheer of support and the sound of mycelial tentacles slapping the ground immediately erupted.
However, not all Puji (a popular online community for Puji) are buying into this.
"Hmph," a dissatisfied voice rang out, and Number Two pushed Number Four, who was so excited he was about to jump up, away with its tentacles. "Why did you become the leader just by saying so? You were only born a day earlier. The great fungus lord did not designate you to lead us. I will not obey your orders to risk my life."
After saying that, Number Two turned and left.
In the Puji group, number ten, who had been silently observing, first looked at Xiao Hei's mushroom house, then glanced at its indignant fellow members around it. It quietly moved its feet and retreated to the back of the group without leaving a trace.
While almost all of Puji's attention was drawn to Number Two's departure, it darted away and quickly slipped into the shadows of the nearby mushroom house, disappearing from sight.
After the unpleasant little incident, the remaining eleven Puji seemed to have finally united.
Number One was finally able to begin outlining his tactics: "Remember, once the entrance is opened, we'll all..."
Before he could finish speaking, the surrounding Puji suddenly took a step back in unison.
Number One realized something, its senses spreading behind it through the fungal carpet...
Little Black had somehow poked her head out from the crack in the mushroom house. Her golden pupils scanned the area, and she discovered that what had disturbed her lazy sleep was actually a bunch of breakfast animals!
"For the glory of the Mushroom Clan! Defeat the Chick-Eating Beast!" Chick Number Four was the first to react, shouting with high fighting spirit as he bravely charged forward.
It rushed into Little Black's mouth.
"Run!" someone shouted, and all the survivors except for Number One scattered in all directions.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Number One could only swallow his resentment and prepare to retreat for the time being, hoping to make a comeback in the future.
Just as it was about to run away, Number Thirteen, amidst the chaos, quietly used its tentacles to wrap around Number One's short legs.
Caught off guard, Number One tripped and fell hard.
Before it could even look up to see who had done it, that familiar big black claw pressed down on its mushroom cap and dragged it back into the mushroom house.
Number One's unwilling roar lasted only a very brief moment in the mushroom net before disappearing completely as the mushroom house door closed.
...
Norris sat on a large mushroom outside his mushroom house, scratching the scales on his chin, watching the farce of the "Mushroom Clan's Extermination of the Eating Beast" come to an end not far away.
He vaguely felt that the boss was up to something amazing again. These Puji who could think independently and even fight amongst themselves were indeed unprecedented. But watching Xiao Hei take them out one by one like picking up snacks... his skill was hard to describe for a moment.
And the boss doesn't seem to care that they died?
He was lost in thought, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses from the drama. When he looked down, he was startled.
The yellow book lying on my lap was rapidly producing words, almost filling all the blank spaces!
[Norris, what are those things?]
[A soul! I sensed an independent soul! How could there be such a soul in those mushrooms? They were all clearly...]
[Transfiguration? No... it's like stuffing someone else's soul into it? That doesn't seem like it either...]
[Creating...creating souls? Is it creating souls? ? ?]
[Norris, what's that? Look over here!]
[Norris?]
[Norris!!!]
Seeing his name filling the page made Norris's heart skip a beat; he rarely saw his predecessor, the Yellow Book, so impatient.
In his memory, the Yellow Book senior would fawn over the boss, and when he was down on his luck, he would mock him with sharp words while awkwardly offering some practical advice. In his spare time, he was keen to talk bad about Blood Sister or other vampires.
At other times, the Yellow Book usually maintains a calm yet bored attitude, and it is rare to see it lose its composure like this.
"Senior, please calm down!" Norris scratched his head and hurriedly explained, "Those seem to be the new styles that the boss has come up with recently, but I don't really know the details."
[Boss! Great boss! Can you hear me? I have something important to say!]
The handwriting scrolled through two lines in a scribbled manner, and seeing no response, he immediately turned to Norris.
[Norris, call the boss for me]
"This..." Norris was a little intimidated.
[Norris, please! This really matters to me!]
"No, no!" Norris was a little frightened by the yellow book and could only bite the bullet and contact his boss through the mushroom network.
...
Puff, puff—
With two snapping sounds, Chick One and Chick Four emerged from the sticky cocoon once again.
The mycelium was still attached to their mushroom caps. The number one mushroom waved its tentacles angrily, about to use the fungal web to accuse the "mushroom-eating beast" of its atrocities and the betrayal of its brethren to the fungal master. The number four mushroom also jumped up and down excitedly, ready to join in.
However, before they could say anything, the knights who were waiting nearby dragged the two round creatures out with a thud.
Lin Jun originally planned to create more intelligent Puji. Although each one required a small piece of his soul to be separated, given the size of his soul, even creating hundreds or thousands of them wouldn't have much of an impact.
However, after seeing their performance, Lin Jun decided to temporarily produce only thirteen of them.
The reason is simple: they are all too individualistic.
This isn't just about adding an advanced AI; each Puji truly has its own personality.
If you do too much, your subordinates will be in chaos, and orders will be difficult to carry out.
It's better to limit its use to a small number of high-level Puji, and the number will be gradually increased as needed, while keeping it within a controllable range.
Of course, this group is currently in the "personality training" and "social adaptability testing" stage, so the bodies that carry their souls are only at the most ordinary elite level.
Even if they unfortunately perish, like No. 1 and No. 4, the loss is within an acceptable range, and their souls can be recovered and re-incubated.
But this tattered book...
Lin Jun's attention shifted to Norris's timid call from within the fungal web.
Why are you suddenly contacting me?
(End of this chapter)
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